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see/read
the origial thing : 
(click on pic for enlargement, it's in CROATIAN!)
Here's
the translation :
Today
in Chicago, there are a lot of bands that like to mix improvising
music with punk, noise and rock (Melt
Banana, U.S.
Maple, Dazzling, Killmen, The
Flying Luttenbachers and Shellac).
Bands from Chicago, such as Tortoise,
HiM, Isotope
217 in a last decade established a new contemporary direction
in music : post rock. Clubs in Chicago had an open-minded approach
which resulted in gathering a huge number of musicians. One of them
was Doug Sharin, drummer, who spent the last 10 years playing in several
all-time influential bands such as June Of 44, Rex,
Codeine
and HiM.
Doug
came with HiM, to participate
in the Earwing
Jazz Festival, that took place in Zagreb a week ago. Dub-jazz band
HiM released 4 albums so far (Egg, Interpretative Belief System, Sworn
Eyes, Our Point Of Departure). Among the others, they also recorded
a split single with Rujan, a band from Zagreb.
For the first time the band hit the road in Europe in order to promote
their latest album that received very good reviews.
Before
the show we talked to Doug.
R:
The music you play, usually it's considered under post rock. What
does it actually mean?
D: Nothing. I don't like to put music under any category. I think
that HiM plays fusion, using a lot of different influences such as
Jazz, afro-beat, rock, electronic music, dub... I think that fusion
comes out like the best thing of music, cooking, painting, anything.
It's a mixture of everything. For instance, yesterday, after our set
in Florence, I heard some Sardinian singer that blew me away. I had
never heard something like that so far. Music is always new, you just
have to have a good approach.
R:
How come that June of 44 split
up?
D: I'm very disappointed with the way we split up. There wasn't any
huge fight. We just basically felt like it was time to separate and
that each of us go our own way. It happened during our tour that lasted
for 5 months. We were actually supposed to play in KSET (actually
Mocvara, Doug was wrong). Maybe these 5 months of spending way too
much time together just got to us and we felt frustrated and started
fighting. Actually the whole recording session for Anahata was tough
and complicated. At the end we split up. At that time we hoped and
believed that we would get together and play again. It still didn't
happen but I believe it will.
R:
For how long have you been in Europe with this tour? And how do you
find reactions of the audience?
D: We played for 5 weeks around Belgium,
London, Italy, Switzerland and Spain. I have to admit that we
were shocked seeing so many people coming to our concerts. For instance
in Italy, after every single set we had like 50 people waiting for
our autographs.
R:
Did you participate to US elections?
D: No. Back then we were already on the road and before the tour I
tried to sigh up somewhere so I could give my vote but it was too
complicated and I gave up. Anyway, I would vote for Ralph
Nader. I've heard one of his speeches and for the first time in
my life I felt like somebody was actually talking to me and he really
had something to say. Unfortunately he didn't have a chance to say
that on our National TV. If he only got that chance, he would definitely
overshadow Buch and Gore. I'm ashamed when I see what's happening
in my country. Bush and Gore, are they the only things that America
can offer to the World?
R:
Can your political state of mind be heard in your music?
D: Well, music can send some messages. In my music and my life actually
I'm trying to avoid that. The only person who shook that was Ralph
Nader. He dared and had guts to say something. Once while I was in
some pub with a friend of mine, drunk, and we started talking to some
people. And a waitress came to us asking for whom are we gonna vote.
And we said for Ralph Nader. She said : "For who??". so much about
us, Americans.
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